Alexi McCammond is stepping away from Teen Vogue.
In a new statement posted on Thursday, March 18, the publication's incoming editor in chief revealed she is resigning after controversial social media posts resurfaced.
"My past tweets have overshadowed the work I've done to highlight the people and issues that I care about—issues that Teen Vogue has worked tirelessly to share with the world—and so Condé Nast and I have decided to part ways," Alexi shared on Twitter. "I should not have tweeted what I did and I have taken full responsibility for that. I look at my work and growth in the years since, and have redoubled my commitment to growing in the years to come as both a person and as a professional."
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Olivia Munn is joining the chorus of voices taking aim at Teen Vogue's newest editor in chief, Alexi McCammond.
McCammond, 27, was named the incoming editor of the outlet on Friday, March 5, following her coverage of the 2018 and 2020 elections at Axios.
However, soon after her appointment, she faced backlash over her resurfaced tweets that offensively mentioned "swollen, asian eyes," her "stupid asian T.A." and "an old asian woman" in 2011 and 2012.
On Monday, more than 20 members of the Teen Vogue staff addressed the hire in a joint statement that condemned McCammond's "past racist and homophobic tweets."
It read, "In a moment of historically high anti-Asian violence and amid the on-going struggles of the LGBT community, we as the staff of Teen Vogue fully reject those sentiments. We are hopeful that an internal conversation will prove fruitful in maintaining the integrity granted to us by our audience."
Munn, 40, gave her take on the tweets on Wednesday, March 10, telling NBC News' Vicky Nguyen, "I think it's important for people to hear her say that these were racist comments and there's nothing excusable about."
The Newsroom alum added, "I think that for myself and other people in our community, it would just be nice for her to just say exactly what it is. Call it what it is, it was, it was a racist stupid remark."
Munn felt the tweets were "hard to read" because they reminded her of verbal attacks she endured as a child. "I remember growing up and having people tease me for my mom's Asian eyes, for my Asian eyes and it's a triggering thing to read. I think she should be judged more on how she's taking the responsibility today," the actress said.
She also acknowledged that McCammond was young at the time and may have changed her ways in the years since, saying, "We've all said silly things and she was 17 at the time. So, I definitely think there is, you know, a lot that we have to kind of give her some grace on for that."
McCammond apologized for the tweets on Monday, per The New York Times. "You've seen some offensive, idiotic tweets from when I was a teenager that perpetuated harmful and racist stereotypes about Asian Americans," the journalist wrote. "I apologized for them years ago, but I want to be clear today: I apologize deeply to all of you for the pain this has caused. There's no excuse for language like that."
Her tweets are now private. She's expected to start her new position on March 24.
Teen Vogue published an additional statement on its Instagram on Tuesday, attributed to "Teen Vogue staff & EIC Alexi McCammond." The note read, "We're confident that Teen Vogue will continue to be a leader uplifting all BIPOC and marginalized communities and telling their stories to the world. As a team, we've had frank, thoughtful, and real conversations over the last days about inclusivity and the way forward."
Fellow actors Daniel Wu and Daniel Dae Kim joined Munn in issuing a statement on behalf of Asian American activists, creators and citizens. Kim thanked the Teen Vogue staff on Twitter this week for "actively engaging this issue," and added, "We cannot afford to stay silent both for ourselves and generations to come. #StopAsianHate."
Munn's full interview will air on NBC News NOW at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 10, during the special The Racism Virus.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family).
Originally published Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 3:13 p.m. PST